Things slow to go bump in night in latest Paranormal’ spook fest

Thursday

Sleepwalk on the dark side with “Paranormal Activity 2,” a sequel that tastes like the second helping of an empty dish.

?? out of 5 stars

Cast: Sprague Grayden, Molly Ephraim, Brian Boland

Director: Tod Williams

Rating: R for violence, language

Theaters: Stadium 14, Forum 8

As the story opens, Kristi Rey (Sprague Grayden) returns home from the hospital with her newborn son, Hunter. Months pass in montage, during which we meet Kristi’s husband, Dan (Brian Boland), his teenage daughter from a previous marriage, Ali (Molly Ephraim) and their loyal German shepherd, Abby.

When the family’s home is ransacked one night, Dan installs six surveillance cameras in and around the house. It’s from these fixed camera positions — front door, backyard, kitchen, living room, stairway and baby’s room — that the majority of the film unfolds. Occasionally a family member grabs a camcorder, and the action switches to first-person perspective.

The movie takes its time establishing the characters within the setting and even longer before any substantial activity occurs, paranormal or otherwise. Here’s the basic formula: Each night we monitor the different surveillance stations, watching and waiting for any signs of movement. It starts small —– slamming doors and jiggling baby toys — but eventually grows more forceful and evil.

The film’s primary scare tactic isn’t what you see or hear but that long wait for something to finally happen. As the vantage point switches between security cameras, we quickly scan the image for anything amiss, at the same time dreading what we’ll find. When it works, it’s unnerving as hell and a bit like playing Where’s Waldo’s Ghost?

When the spooks finally hit the fan, the horror payoff is more substantial than the first movie. Was it worth the wait? Not really. Will you walk out grumbling? Absolutely.

The movie is more of a prequel to the original, with overlapping timelines near the end. It also features a more developed narrative, higher production values and moderately interesting characters. We learn that Kristi’s sister Katie (Katie Featherstone) and her ill-fated boyfriend Micah (Micah Sloat), from the first movie, live just around the corner. The horror lies in how the two storylines ultimately converge.

I’m not a big fan of horror mockumentaries (“The Blair Witch Project,” “Cloverfield”) but managed to enjoy this outing more than the original. The acting is still subpar — awash in awkward improvisations — but the story elements are better defined. Placing a baby and a dog in the path of peril automatically ups the ante on suspense. It’s a brilliant move but still a far cry from “Poltergeist.”

Director Tod Williams (“The Door in the Floor”) takes the helm from Oren Peli, who single-handedly wrote, produced and directed the 2007 original. For some reason, it took Williams and a team of four writers to produce this script, though you would never know by the content. Out of the entire 91-minute movie, maybe 10 to 15 minutes of action and meaningful dialogue take place. The rest of the time, we sit and wait.

If the first film was a snoozefest, at least this one includes a series of loud jolts, most of which are there just to keep us from nodding off. Nothing here is truly terrifying — at best, just mildly creepy. The filmmakers claim the use of static cameras heightens the sense of reality and is thereby more frightening. I think it does the opposite, distancing us from the action and any emotional response. I’m hoping this gimmick has run its course.